Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-07-13
Mistellauepns &eadiug.
REuNION.

A memorable reunion of war veterans
occurred on the battlefield of Gettysburg
on Saturday and Sunday, the twenty
fourth anniversary of the battle of Gettys-
burg. About five hundred survivors of
Philadelphia regiments arrived, compos-
ing the brigade which bore so conspicuous
a part in the battle when confronted by
Pickett's division of the Confederate army
arrived at Gettysburg on Saturday after
noon. The welcome which they extended
to the survivors of their old antagonists
when they arrived an hour later was a
warm one. Pickett's men were received
at the railroad station by the Philadelphia
ans, and escorted from the depot to the
Eagle Hotel, where a stand-up lunch was
given them, after which all made for the
county Courthouse, where the first camp
fire of the blue and grey upon the historic
grounds of Gettysburg was held. At
o'clock the meeting was called to order by
John w. Frazier, who said:
Ladies, Comrades and Friends: The
high honor of calling this meeting to or
der has been assigned to me. This is, as
you all know, the first fraternal meeting
of the blue and the grey that has taken
place on these historic grounds, and stand
ing beside the last resting place of the
honored dead, who here gave the last full
measure of their devotion to the Union, l
say to you that these fraternal meetings of
the blue and the grey will do more to
create and maintain a sincere and lasting,
fellowship among the people of the whole
nation than anything else that has taken
place since the war for the preservation
of the Union ended; and I hope to see
them, as I believe they will be, held all
along the line, from Gettysburg to Vicks-
burg. Knowing the feelings that prompt
ed the meeting, I can truly say this fra
ternal meeting of the Philadelphia bri-
gade and Pickett's division will indeed
prove
ga union of hearts and a union of hands;
a union none can sever:
A union of homes and a union of lands,
And the flag of our Union forever"
Speeches were made by a number of
veterans of both sides, and letters from
President Cleveland and Gen. Sherman,
heartily sympathising with the occasion
and the motives which prompted it, were
read. In his letter, the President gives
expression to the following sentiments:
"a fraternal meeting of these soldiers
upon the battlefield where twenty-four
years ago in deadly fray they fiercely
sought each others lives, where they saw
their comrades fall, and where all thoughts
were of vengeance and destruction, will
illustrate the general impulse of brave
men and their honest desire for peace and
reconciliation. The friendly assault there
to be made will be resistless, because in
spired by American chivalry; and its
result will be glorious, because conquered
hearts will be its trophies of success.
Thereafter this battlefield will be conse-
Grated by a victory which shall presage
the end of the bitterness of strife, the ex-
posture of the sincerity which conceals
hatred by professions of kindness, the
condemnation of frenzied appeals to pas
ing down of all that stands in the way of
the destiny of our united country. While
those who fought and who have so much
to forgive lead in the pleasant ways of
peace, how wicked appear the traffic in
sectional hate and the betrayal of patriotic
sentiment. It surely cannot be wrong to
desire a settled quiet which lights, for our
entire country, the path for prosperity and
greatness; nor need the lesson Of the war
be forgotten and its results be jeopardized
in the wish for that genuine fraternity
which insures the nations pride and glory:
And Gen. Sherman wrote:
"But the feeling of a cordial and hearty
fellowship between the blue and the grey
should be accompanied by a sincere and
hearty desire to preserve for future ages
the beneficent results of the war. In this
the South as we'll as the North is deeply
interested. 1t was to preserve the Union
and to secure to all the blessing of liberty
that the wal was waged and won. Upon
this basis there should be no longer a dan
ger line between Union and Confederate
soldiers or Northern and Southern citi-
Zens, but the courage n patriotism of
both should be the common pride and
heritage of the American people,"
Sunday morning dawned clear and beau
tiful, a perfect counterpart Of the memo
rable day it commemorated. In place OF
canno shots, however, the shrill shrieks
of the locomotive broke the Sabbath still
ness, as excursion after excursion rein
forced the crowds already %thronging the
streets. Brilliant uniforms, the flashing
arms, and a mass of people moving in all
directions over the field bring wildly to
mind the scenes of the great conflict. The
morning was spent in sight seeing and 60
ing over the field. In the afternoon the as
SGulUldEG was CdllSu W OluOl hCoI VhS
"Bloody Angle" and Gen. Joshua, L.
Owens delivered an GRAFTON. During his
speech he said he hardly knew what to
say to the men who, twenty-four years
ago today, emerged from the woods thir-
teen hundred yards away and made a ter
rible assault on the Union line. "Let
them place their monument where they
wish, he continued. "ArmiStead and sew
eral others pierced our line, and here,
within a few feet of this spot, he fell
wounded unto death. The renowned pha-
lanxes of Alexandria would not have
dared to make the charge that Pickett
made"
In closing he called for three cheers for
Pickett's division, as proof of their friend
ship. They were given with a will, as
were three cheers for General Owens. Col.
Reilly then presented the monument to the
care and keeping Of the Battlefield Memo
rial Association. 1t was received in their
name by Col. J. B. Bachelor. Before the
ceremonies began Mrs. Pickett, escorted
by Gen. Burns, took her seat on the plat
form, and the crowd at once cheered her.
The new Adjutant-G General, McDermott
stepped forward and presented her with a
beautiful floral cross, which had been
given the brigade, by Mrs. Reed, of Phila-
uelpnla, anu WulCll tiey uOW WloHcu W
present to her; she arose and merely
bowed her thanks.
The celebration was a decided success,
of national import, and the fraternization
of former foes thorough, happy and COM
plete.
The BEE STING.-Their weapons often
protect them from their enemies, but with
wild bees, especially the Honey, or Hive
bees, at the approach of winter, the Drones
or males are no longer of any use, and are
killed off by the stings of the workers, to
save the stores of honey they would other
wise consume. With many of the wasps